'A list of Jim Rattigan’s accomplishments would fill pages, just as his music fills the air with the sheer joy of creativity. One of the world’s foremost exponents of the French horn, he is also one of the few to have convincingly adapted it to jazz. In a career spanning over forty years he’s played in ensembles of every conceivable size and sort, but never had the opportunity to show what the French Horn is capable of in those most stripped-back, quintessential jazz formats: the duo record and the Standards album. The time had come to explore this most demanding but rewarding setting, allowing the full range and versatility of the horn to shine. Rattigan had three collaborators in mind, and set up some informal playing sessions “I said I’ll pop over and we’ll have a play - I fancy playing some standards!” but the creative sparks were soon flying, and the project developed organically until Jim found himself taking three distinct approaches to the initial idea. With pianist Ivo Neame, the playing soon morphed into far-reaching investigations into some unusual re-arrangements and original sketches by both players. With guitarist Nick Costley-White, both players reveled in finding new inspiration within the familiar joys of the Great American Songbook. Finally, pianist/bandleader Hans Koller’s deep knowledge of the canon of fellow pianist Thelonious Monk prompted a deep dive into of some of his key compositions. First came 'Dialogues', the collaboration with Ivo Neame. “I hadn’t played much with Ivo before this project. But I’ve always loved his playing - We set up in his own studio, Wonderland Studio, so there were no time limits, and the album morphed into something else as we played.” The album started with a fortuitous coincidence - Jim wanted to play Wayne Shorter’s ‘Infant Eyes’ and Billy Strayhorn’s ‘Chelsea Bridge’, and Ivo already had his own strikingly original arrangements of those tunes ‘We tried them - they’re challenging, and I love a challenge - and they felt good on the horn!”.......... (album notes).